Advocating for the right of consenting adults to share and enjoy love, sex, residence, and marriage without limits on the gender, number, or relation of participants. Full marriage equality is a basic human right.

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

By my count, this is the twenty-sixth ongoing relationship I've covered through exclusive interviews in which the lovers are denied the freedom to be open about their love
and are denied their fundamental right to marry.

"Joe" and "Jamie" (assumed names) grew up in a little town in middle
America in a large, religious family, which included five girls, with Joe being
the sole boy. As they say, "We both are very passionate about music and
giving to those who are without." They live together with their dog.
Joe is a little over nine months older than Jamie.

Read the interview below and ask yourself if
there is one good reason their rights to love each other the way they
want and to marry should be denied. And if you want to follow them on an ongoing basis, their NOT SAFE FOR WORK Tumblr can be found here: http://ataleof2siblings.tumblr.com

*****

FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Are you married or have you ever been married?

Maybe I’m being too judgmental by thinking people who find their
cousins hot is totally creepy and wrong, but this kind of thing has been
making people feel weird for a long time.

You are needlessly attacking people and you are wrong about people feeling weird about it. For most of human history, most people have married a cousin. It is still common in many places. Half of US states will legally marry first cousins.

Perhaps some people don’t consider
kissing cousins to be as stomach-churningly horrifying as say
brother-sister or parent-child stuff, but uh, whatever the degree of
separation, finding your family hot is still something you might want to
keep between you and your analyst.

Maybe if you reword that and make it about interracial relationships, you'll see why this statement is hurtful.

Maybe her cousins aren't attractive? But some people have attractive cousins.

Friday, December 27, 2013

We've noted the law and prosecutions in Samoa before. Like many other places, including most US states, adults are still criminally prosecuted for having consensual sex. Sarai Ripine reported at samoaobserver.ws that a father and daughter both tried to take the "blame" away from each other. That sounds like love at work.

A father and daughter have both claimed they were the
first to ask for sex with each other. A 28-year-old woman facing incest
charges has told the Supreme Court it was she who asked her father, not
the other way around. The father told police he asked first.

Both she and her father have pleaded guilty to incest charges.

She is 28. She is capable of consenting to sex. While they each tried to protect the other in this case, I think in some cases the lovers might end up with the parent or older sibling taking all of the "blame," even to the point of the younger person saying it wasn't consensual, as it spares the younger person from being prosecuted. If the option is one of gets a criminal prosecution and a "sex offender" brand or they both get that, it is better, they figure, that only of them gets it. This is NOT to deny that assaults aren't happening, perpetrated by a parent or older sibling. They certainly are, but those are an entirely different matter than consensual sex, which is what I'm talking about here.

The
cable TV network said Thursday it will produce nine, one-hour episodes
about Brady Williams and his five wives and 24 children. The first
episode is set to debut March 9.

These series feature polygyny, but there are so many ways polyamory can lived out, and hopefully, we'll see some variety in the future. For example, I'd like to see a series with a polyandrous triad, and definitely one with a same-gender triad.

Members of the Williams
family are among an estimated 15,000 independent polygamists in the West
who don't belong to an organized, fundamentalist Mormon church.
Williams and his wives withdrew from the Apostolic United Brethren
during the mid-2000s after re-evaluating their core beliefs.

The
family no longer teaches the tenets of fundamental Mormonism to their
children at home, opting instead to take from other teachings such as
Buddhism to instill good, morale values in their two dozen children, who
range in age from 2-20.

Interesting.

In addition to the Browns and now the
Williams family, TLC also has done a special featuring the Darger family
of Utah. HBO's fictional show about a polygamous family, 'Big Love,'
ran for five seasons.

Following
the recent court ruling [decriminalizing polyfidelity in Utah], Williams said now is the time for polygamists
to show they are deserving of the recognition by putting an end to the
misogyny rampant among the culture and putting women on equal footing as
men.

Yes, we are making progress for equality.

The
practice of polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the mainstream church and its
15 million members worldwide abandoned polygamy in 1890 and strictly
prohibit it today.

Hmm. That could have been written better. Many American polygynists have Mormon roots, but polygamy is as old as life.

These television shows are helping more people to see that an adult should be free to marry any and all consenting adults, and that's a great thing.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Belated tidings to those of you who, in one way or another, celebrate the Solstice, and Happy Holidays to all who are celebrating any of them.

It has been quite the year, with much good news and some not-so-good news. There has been so much progress and other things of more that this blog literally hasn't been able to cover everything. This is, after all, a labor of love, and not only do I not ask for monetary donations or feature advertisements, but I wouldn't accept any monetary donations.

If you really want to help, use the various ways in the column on the right and at the end of each posting to spread the message of this blog.

I will also gladly accept written and graphic submissions, provided they are topical and in keeping with the goals and tone of this blog. I will give you credit and a link, but no material or monetary compensation. You can reach me at fullmarriageequality at yahoo dot com. I welcome your comments, so write me even just to say hello.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

By my count, this is the twenty-fifth ongoing relationship I've covered through exclusive interviews in which the lovers are denied the freedom to be open about their love and would be denied their freedom to marry, if they wanted to marry.

Anonymous Son has a consanguinamorous relationship with his mother. They have no plans to marry, but they should be free to do so if they want, and should not have to hide their love. They look like a great couple. Both of them are attractive. You could know them as mother and son and have no idea what they are doing behind closed doors, or you could see them walking hand and hand and think they are both attractive and look good together.

Read the interview below and ask yourself if there is one good reason their rights to love each other the way they want should be denied.

*****

FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Describe yourself and your background.

Anonymous Son: I am a 22 year old Senior at a semi-ivy league school in the northeast US. I have had various part time jobs, mainly at the restaurant/bar that we own and internships at various companies during my college years. I am white, 5'10 with blonde hair and green eyes, I consider myself to be attractive. I have always been active and involved in various sports throughout highschool and college, I also enjoy film and literature. We live in a nice and quiet town, I would describe us as middleclass to upper-middleclass. As of right now I only have one younger sister who lives with us. For the first year of college, I lived in a dorm but moved back home and commuted for the rest. I have not been married. My mother was married to my father for 11 years, they divorced once I turned 10. My mom still hasn't remarried.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Before I met the Browns – made famous by the reality television show “Sister Wives” –
I had the kind of reaction most modern-day Christians would have to
their lifestyle: Polygamy hurts women. It offers girls a skewed
perspective of who they can be. It happens on cultish compounds. It’s
abusive.Yet when the Browns' show debuted, I began to question some of those
assumptions, and when I had the opportunity to meet them a few years
ago, I questioned them further.

In getting to know Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, and
their children, I saw that these parents were extremely invested in
raising girls and boys who were empowered to get an education, become
independent thinkers and have a moral compass.

Go read it all, especially if you are interested in a Christian perspective.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Polygamy, plural marriage, polyamory… the news and commentary media coverage has been more than plentiful since the Browns of Sister Wives won recently in a court decision that overturned an item in Utah law that was, perhaps, the most restrictive of its kind in the country.

There has been so much confusion about what actually happened.

No, unfortunately, the court did not grant the polygamous freedom to marry.

What it did was overturn what was, when you get down to it, the criminalization of a polyfidelitous form of polyamory. Under Utah law, people have been free to have a different sex partner every night, and have children with all of them. What they were prevented from doing was actually living with or considering themselves as married to more than one person at a time. So again, if one woman wanted to have sex and children with five different men, that was OK, but she was a criminal if she lived with two men and called both of them her husbands.

It was a ridiculous law, intended to attack religious minorities for their practice of what they call plural marriage, a religion-based form of polygyny. Yet how effective was it at actually stopping polygynous living, or, what is really important, preventing spousal and child abuse? It wasn’t. I argue that such laws actually help perpetuate domestic violence and child abuse by making victims and witnesses more reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement because their own consensual, non-abusive relationships are criminalized.

But the court decision is hardly envelope-pushing. It aids long-established, fundamental rights such as the freedom of association and freedom of religion, and brings Utah a little closer to the other 49 states and most of the modern world in no longer allowing law enforcement to march into your home and say, “You can’t love and commit to more than one person! Off to jail with you!”

What I wish the ruling had done was recognize the polygamous freedom to marry (which is what some people seem to think happened.) It is nice to see that, even though there is much bigotry-spewing and there are plenty of bus sightings, there are also many allies standing up and challenging people with the simple question, “What’s wrong with letting people be with the consenting adults they love?” Although the ruling did not go far enough, it is a step in the right direction, and the civil rights march has often progressed through baby steps.

There is still much work to do, but full marriage equalitywill happen. We will get there. A woman, like a man, should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage (or any of those without the others) with ANY and ALL consenting adults, without prosecution, bullying, or discrimination. If a woman wants to marry a man who is already married, that is of no ill effect to anyone else. If she wants to marry two women, that hurts nobody. Let them be! Let them marry!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

If you or someone you know is experiencing or has experienced Genetic Sexual Attraction or Genetic Attraction and you want a place to discuss it, there is a free, welcoming, and affirming place to do it. Kindred Spirits forum has now added a GSA section.

Kindred Spirits has long been a great place to talk about consanguinamory in a supportive environment without adult images all over the place (and I have nothing against erotica, but some people really want a place to talk that doesn't have it everywhere) and without spam. Now, it has a section specifically for GSA.

You may not see the Reunion/Genetic Attraction section before you join the site, but it is there. Again, there is no cost to join or participate at Kindred Spirits, but if you want access, you do need to register. Be sure to immediately read and follow the rules!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Whether someone was looking for themselves or just curious to see if such places exist, the search using that phrase is a reminder that consanguineous lovers often have to hide their love close to home. They may not be able to talk about the love of their lives with coworkers, neighbors, or even members of their own family. Just walking hand-in-hand on a night out on the town can be risky.

As such, especially if they haven’t been able to move to reside where people are unaware of their status as close relatives, a vacation away (“holiday” for some of you) can be very liberating. Romantic dinners, kisses, holding hands, embracing, dancing, and sharing a room can be done without fear. How much more enjoyment can such lovers get if they also get to openly meet, in-person, others who are consanguinamorous?

Such a resort destination would ideally be located where there are no laws against consanguinamory and where there is some ability to provide privacy for visitors, who still have lives, including careers, to which they’ll be returning. It would help to be somewhere that has other tourist and business travelers, so as to not automatically be associated with being a vacation destination for consanguineous lovers in the mind of the average person in the general pubic. Sounds to me like a Lily Pad is needed.

After 20 years, relatives of the couple discovered that they had been
living as husband and wife with an 18-year-old son in his first year
in Senior High School.

Even though the brother and sister were summoned to the chief of
their village, and made to perform some rites to 'cleanse' them, they
continued to have sexual relationship, Ohemeng reported.

Well. yes, they are married except in law, and they obviously love each other. What is the sense in trying to break up a family? If they've been together for 20 years without a problem, why try to stop them? There is no good reason.

They do not mention any problem with their child, so my guess is that that child is healthy, because I'm fairly certain they would have included any significant problems experienced by him in the report. To American eyes, reading that he is 18 and in his first year at Senior High School seems strange, but it is entirely possible he wasn't started in school until later than most American students start.

So what exactly was the problem with their relationship? Other people didn't like the idea. So what? How ridiculous it is to waste resources trying to pry apart adult lovers, especially ones that apparently haven't caused any trouble for anybody. I can guarantee you there are other siblings in Ghana living as spouses, some with children together, just as there are (and always have been) all over the world. The sooner we recognize all adults should have relationship rights, including full marriage equality, the better.

Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Clark said that the victim was
mentally disabled, and that her father was taking advantage of her.

So is Clark alleging that the 19-year-old is unable to consent to sex with anyone? If she is legally able to consent to group sex with 5 cage fighters she just met, why not Smith?

Incest is a felony, punishable by from two to four years or more than
100 years or life in the Montana State Prison, and a $50,000 fine.

It is ridiculous that anyone would be criminally prosecuted for consensual sex, let alone be sent to prison for 100 years! Criminal prosecution should be reserved for assault/rape, where I can definitely understand a 100-year prison sentence.

He then links to that particular forum where consanguinamory is discouraged.

They claim that any two consenting adults
should be able to share love, sex, residence and marriage. They claim
that they are not hurting anyone. They claim that laws and prejudices
need to catch up with reality.

It
may be kept shrouded in mystery and spoken about only in whispers, but
it is not going to go away anytime soon. Adoption reunions are
increasingly common, especially since social networking has simplified
tracing. Increasing rates of IVF, sperm donation and even divorce will
only create more opportunity for family members to be separated then
found later in life too.

Yes. This is going to be happening a lot more in the coming years.

Is there a difference between biological and sociological incest?

Yes.

Should we condemn those gripped by GSA?

No. We should not condemn ANY consenting adults for loving each other.

Or is it an ordinary response to
exceptional circumstances?

Yes, it is an ordinary response.

If you have experienced GSA, there is now a section specifically to discuss GSA at Kindred Spirits. It is a free, welcoming forum, but be sure to read and immediately follow all of the rules. You will see the GSA forum after you do so.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A scientific study says polyandry pays off for female prarie dogs. As always, I note that what happens in other species isn't always applicable to humans, but this is another example refuting the claim that polyandry is "not natural." In this case, polyandry has increased the likelihood that a female will have more surviving offspring. I found this report at phys.org.

Credit:
Elaine Miller Bond (elainemillerbond.com)

Mating with more than one male increases reproductive success
for female prairie dogs, despite an increase in risks. This is
according to a new study published in The Journal of Mammalogy by
behavioral ecologist John Hoogland, Professor at the University of
Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory.

Mating entails significant costs such as increased susceptibility to
predation and increased exposure to diseases and parasites. So why would
a female prairie dog take the risk to mate with multiple males? The
answer is simple and clear: female prairie dogs that mate with two or more males rear more offspring than those that mate with only one.

So, if you're a woman looking to have a lot of offspring, polyandry might be a strategy.

Prairie dogs are herbivorous rodents of the squirrel family, and
forage aboveground from dawn until dusk. They live in colonies of
territorial, contiguous family groups that contain one or two sexually
mature adult males, three or four sexually mature adult females, and one
or two sexually immature yearling males.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Over the past few years, polyamory has become a more widely
known term and practice. And perhaps inevitably, certain misconceptions
and misunderstandings about what "polyamory" means have become
widespread as well.

That's for sure. There are so many different ways polyamory can be experienced, and people often base their perception, or mistaken understanding, on one example.

It would be unfortunately difficult to say which
among these misunderstandings is the most common, or the most hurtful to
polyamorous folks. But there's one in particular that I'd like to
discuss: the idea that "polyamory" means "committed couple who have
casual partners on the side."

That's just one of many ways polyamory can be experienced.

Many of us have deeply committed
relationships with more than one partner, with no hierarchy among them
and no core "couple" at the heart of it all. To me, this notion that
there must be one more important relationship, one true love, feels a
lot like people looking at same-sex couples and thinking that one person
must be the "man" in the relationship and the other must be the
"woman." After all, both of these misunderstandings result from people
trying to graft their normative conceptions of love and relationships
onto people who are partnering in non-normative ways. It seems that it
is somewhat easy for many people to acknowledge that humans are capable
of loving one person and still enjoying sex with others (assuming, of
course, that the terms of their relationship make such behavior
acceptable). But it is much harder for people to think outside the
fairy-tale notion of "the one" and imagine that it might be possible to
actually romantically love more than one person simultaneously.

Ethical nonmonogamy will continue to gain understanding, acceptance, and recognition as we move towards full marriage equality and relationship right for all. Conferences like this one will help with the process. From the website...

This event will happen February 21-23, 2014, in Berkeley, California, USA.

This conference will explore issues related to monogamous and
nonmonogamous relationships from an interdisciplinary perspective. This
event will be devoted to presentations of scientific and academic
research related to polyamory, open relationships, swinging, other forms
of consensual nonmonogamy and related subjects. The conference does not
take a position on whether any particular type or style of relationship
is healthy or pathological. The intention of the event is explore the
subject in as objective and unbiased a manner as possible. Presentations
will cover various topics that offer some possible progress to a deeper
and more complete understanding of the phenomenon of consensual
nonmonogamy.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Now that's an interesting concept. Many people have fantasies and some people have actual experience in a threesome with two close relatives, often siblings or parent and adult child.. If the close relatives do anything sexual with each other in the process, that is considered consensual incest. With as common as consanguineous sex is, there are bound to be others who see it, either by accident or intention. It can happen at a swingers party or play party, perhaps with witnesses not even knowing the people involved are close relatives.

Since consanguinamory is still illegal in many places and people in consanguinamorous relationships are subject to discrimination and want to protect themselves, most such lovers will never have sex in front of other people. And, of course, many people are shy or want privacy and would never have sex at all in front of others whatever the circumstances.

Being present for consanguinamory can be a quite an experience. Have you ever seen consanguineous sex? Or, if you have experience with consanguinamory, has you ever done anything in front of people outside the family?

A TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD
woman of Kapiri Mposhi who is alleged to have been in a secret sexual
affair with her 49-year-old father for nine years and has been appearing
in court for charges of incest has walked to freedom.

That would have made her 16 when the "sexual affair" started. According to this and this, 16 is the age of consent in Zambia.

This was after the Director
of Public Prosecutions (DPP) issued instructions to enter a nolle
prosequi into the matter. The woman could be turned into a State
witness.

So, does that imply that they now believe it wasn't consensual?

This is in a case in which Gift Mweemba was facing a charge of incest by a female.

Particulars of the offence
were that between January 1, 2004 and March 1, 2013, Gift permitted Paid
Mweemba, knowing that he was her biological father, to have unlawful
carnal knowledge of her contrary to Section 161 (1) of the Laws of
Zambia.

It would have been perfectly legal for her to have sex with a complete stranger who was a 40 or 50-year-old, or a neighbor who has been like a father to her since she was born, but not the man she is alleged to have had a "sexual affair" with.

Meanwhile, in the case of
Mweemba who is facing one count of incest contrary to Section 159 (1) of
the Penal Code Cap 87 as amended by Act No. 15 of 2005 of the Laws of
Zambia, the DPP allowed the commencement of trial.

Particulars of the offence
are that Mweemba between January 1, 2004 and March 1, 2013, knowing that
Gift was his biological daughter, had unlawful carnal knowledge of her.

Interesting that they are different parts of the law, but essentially the same charge: consensual incest. If this wasn't consensual he should be charged with rape. If it was consensual it shouldn't be a criminal matter. No information on whether or not he raised her or not, or how they were turned over for prosecution. If he raised her and groomed her for this, that would be quite the story as she was held under his sway all the way through age 25 and it shouldn't be called a "sexual affair" but rather ongoing sexual assault. But if this is different matter, where she actually did freely consent (perhaps not being raised by him at all), the story is that they are wasting resources pursuing his prosecution. The article then goes on to apparently less important criminal matters... like homicide.

Full Marriage Equality

About This Blog

I argue for marriage equality. By that I mean that society and all local, state, federal, and international laws, institutions, and programs should recognize any marriage registered by any persons without restrictions on the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

The global definition of marriage should be as follows: "The uniting of consenting individuals in a witnessed ceremony."

We believe everyone has the right to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any and all consenting adult(s) of their choice, regardless of birth or sexual orientation.

The Fine Print

The focus of this blog is consenting adults. This blog does not advocate anyone engage in activity that is currently illegal in their jurisdiction; it does advocate changing or repealing any law that prevents the freedom of association, love, and full marriage equality for adults. This blog condemns rape, sexual assault, and child molestation, and frowns in the general direction of cheating. This blog exists mainly to evaluate information and direct others to information about current events; it does not provide medical, therapeutic, legal, financial, or cooking advice. This blog links to other sites for informational purposes; it does not necessarily support everything at those links.